Disclaimer: POTC belongs to not me.
Squirrel looks down over the edge of the crow's-nest and shouts at Jack, who adjusts the course of the ship accordingly. A metal bell rings out in the darkness, and the crew of the Pearl are suddenly wide awake. Soon, the ship is bristling with cannons, and the dark ship pulls up close by, just close enough for figures to be seen and voices heard. Squirrel readies her shanghai, hidden from sight in the crow's-nest.
"All hands to deck! Dead men tell no tales…" Mister Cotton's parrot squawks from somewhere. Squirrel swallows.
"Ahoy Black Pearl!" A familiar voice rings out in the darkness. Squirrel nearly screams. Her uncle! How did he…?
Jack calls back. "What the hell you want?"
"The Rodent!" A woman's voice screeches back. The sound of someone being hit across the face travels clearly across the water.
"It has come to our attention that Miss Grey's father had a certain map, which he left in his daughter's care."
Squirrel rolls her eyes. Another pre-written speech? "MAKE UP YOUR MINDS!" She screams across the water. "DO YOU WANT THE MAP OR ME?"
There is a shocked silence from both sides. Risking a look down, Squirrel sees Ana give her the thumbs up. Jack chuckles.
Finally, Dawn calls out. "Bring the map to me, Miss Squirrel, and your precious Jack Sparrow won't be hurt!"
Squirrel turns her brightest shade of red yet, and her stomach drops. So Dawn knew. And now, Jack knows. In the silence that follows, Dawn takes this opportunity to call out even more taunts.
"You burned for him, didn't you, Rodent? And not just inside, but you burned yourself on hot metal for him too!"
Shutupshutupshutupshutup…
"You took a bullet for him, didn't you? Everything you do is for him! Why, I'd bet you couldn't even read what games he played in the tavern!"
Shut UP Shut UP Shut UP!
"So what was it, Squirrel? What was it that made you think you were better than me? What makes you think you have a right to love Captain Jack Sparrow!"
"SHUT UP!" Stone after stone zings across the water, each one only just missing Dawn as she runs back and forth across the deck. "SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE FOR ONCE, BITCH!"
A hand is placed over Squirrel's own. Squirrel looks up, crying, into Anamaria's face.
"Save it, Miss Grey." Ana says gently. "You're wasting your ammunition." Squirrel sobs quietly, dropping her shanghai, as the dark ship drifts closer to the Pearl.
Jack Sparrow and the crew of the Pearl wait. They watch as ropes with grapples cling to the railing, and pull the two ships together. They wait and watch as the crew of the dark ship board the Pearl.
Dawn and her father stand side by side, casting their eyes around for Squirrel. Jack draws his sword.
"I'm so terribly sorry," Jack says, not sorry at all, "But Miss Squirrel is one of us now. She's a crewman of the Pearl." Jack stops, then nods. "Alright, so she's a crew-woman. But I won't hold that against her."
"So where is she?" Dawn hisses, pulling two new pistols from behind her and loading them. "She's alive, so I'm going to have to finish her off."
Jack smiles slightly. "Why? Because you're jealous of her?"
Squirrel hiccups, her tears drying. Dawn? Jealous of me? Me? She and Ana exchange glances.
Dawn scowls, and level the pistols at Jack. "Where is the rodent, Sparrow?"
"From what I've seen of your shooting," Jack says, "You couldn't hit the broad side of a ship. However…" He draws his own pistol. "I've had years more experience at this than you." He motions the pistol downwards. "Drop your guns, 'Aurora'."
A shot rings out, and Jack's three-pointed hat lays spinning on the deck. Dawn's father loads his own pistol again.
"I got Dawn to ask nicely." He grins through his jowls. "Now it's my turn." He fires again, and Jack dances away from the bullet that embeds itself in the wood at his feet. Dawn's father leers. "Hand Squirrel and the map over, and everything will be easier for you."
"Do you know who you're threatening?" Jack says, waving his sword and pistol about. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow! There's no chance that I'm going to be handing over two of the most important things to me to some over-dressed tramp and some walking tub of lard." He grins. "So bugger off, savvy?"
"Jack." Squirrel appears, still red-eyed with tears. "That's enough."
Dawn and her father stare at Squirrel. She stares defiantly back at them.
"Give them the map, Jack. I don't care about my father's gold. If that's all they want, then they can have it." She looks back at Jack. "Just give them the map."
Jack stares at Squirrel. Anamaria turns Squirrel around by the shoulders and yells into her face.
"Are you CRAZY!" She says in her thick accent. "That's your father's last gift to you before he died!"
"Died?" Squirrel's uncle laughs. "No, he didn't die." Squirrel stares at her uncle, amazed. He laughs, "No. Your pa didn't die. I killed him!" He holds his pistol high. "With this very gun!"
"No you didn't." Squirrel mumbles under her breath, trembling slightly. She turns to Jack. "Give them the map, Captain." Squirrel says, voice threatening to crack. "Please, just give them the map." Without her hood to hide her, Squirrel's face is visible to Jack. With a certain reluctance, Jack pulls the yellowed piece of paper from his belt and throws it at Dawn. She catches it between her pistols.
"And Squirrel?" Dawn grins evilly. Squirrel steps forward, bringing her shanghai out from behind her back.
"She's staying here, Dawn." Squirrel grins. "So you can just…" Out of Squirrel's mouth pours a never-ending stream of obscenities. Jack raises both eyebrows, Ana gapes, and Dawn and her father stand staring, unable to do anything, under the three-minute-long stream of curses and insults. Finally, Squirrel stops, gasping for breath. One of the crew-members of the Pearl starts clapping.
"Oh, and one more thing." Squirrel smiles, then fires. The stone hits Dawn at a certain place at her neck. Squirrel's cousin falls over, unconscious. Dawn's father raises his pistol, but Squirrel's shanghai is faster-loading. She smiles sweetly at him, and he scowls back.
Finally, he lowers his pistol and picks up his daughter, slinging her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "You're a fool, Squirrel." He roars. "You think you've won? We have the map!" He waves the piece of paper in the air. "We have Daniel Grey's treasure trove! And you have nothing!" He casts his eye over the crew of the Black Pearl, and grins. "You're no use to anyone here, Squirrel. How can you use your skill at sea?" He throws back his head and laughs. "You're completely useless, Squirrel. A waste of time."
"Thankyou," Squirrel's voice trembles, but no tears threaten to spill out of her eyes. "For reminding me." Ana looks at the girl's angry face.
"Shoot him in the fat arse." She whispers as the man turns and clambers back across to his ship. "It's a target you can never miss."
Squirrel grins, then fires. Her uncle yelps, and drops Dawn on the deck of his ship. The crew of the Pearl roar with laughter. Laughter that continues until the dark ship has sailed well out of sight.
But no-one laughs longer than Squirrel.
"What are you laughing about?" Gibbs says, incredulous. "You lost the map! You lost your father's last gift to you!"
"I did?" Squirrel giggles, wiping a tear from her eye. Gibbs stares, open-mouthed.
Jack squints. "You gave me a fake map, didn't you!"
Squirrel nods, still giggling. "I knew my Uncle wouldn't give up unless he gets the map. And he'd believe it if it was from the Captain himself."
"So he knew about it? Your uncle knew about the map?" Another crewman asks. Squirrel shrugs.
"My father kept records of his dealings with other people. Just like I do. So there was bound to be something in those records which would have something to say about a map." Squirrel giggles again.
"Nice to see you've gotten over your stammer." Anamaria says dryly. Squirrel flushes a pale pink but keeps giggling.
"So where's the real map?" Jack asks eagerly.
Squirrel smiles teasingly. "Safe and hidden."
Jack puts on a pleading face, but Squirrel shakes her head.
"So…" Gibbs scratches his head. "What was on the map that your uncle got, Miss?"
Squirrel grins. "Jack's been there before."
The crew all turn and stare at Jack. It takes a moment for Jack to realise.
"The rum-runner's island!" He says, chuckling. "I knew it looked familiar!" He frowns at Squirrel. "But how did you know about it, luv?"
Squirrel pinks again, then imitates Jack's voice and facial expression. "Why is th' rum gone!"
Jack scowls. "I'm going to KILL Elizabeth next I see her." The crew roar with laughter along with Squirrel.
A/N: TBC, ob-V-ous-Lee.